Being a strong woman with high – functioning depression — What does it actually mean?

She smiles brightly so that the whole world would see. But, what is actually the thing which lies beyond her cheerful countenance is changing her to an unbearable weight.

She has a smile that is contagious – as is her laugh. Her eyes also shine brightly and they make you feel safe in their glow. You should look from the outside and you will see that her life looks so put together. For years, she is spoken of her dreams, and nowadays, she lives them. She seems to have the “perfect” life and why shouldn’t she? She deserves that for sure.

But, when she is alone, things are different. She hides away all of those smiles and she cries instead.

She cries in order to find her inner – strength in order to keep going. She cries for the aches in her bones and muscles which never get the chance to take rest. She cries for the money that she is actually not making, despite that she is working endlessly. She also cries for the emptiness in her heart which pierces her to the very core.

And she smiles.

She smiles because her tribe actually shows her the love that she needs so desperately. She is smiling because she gets to wake up to gorgeous sunrises. When the majestic moon shines blue-white beams down upon her, she is also smiling. She also smiles as she has manifested her dreams into a reality. She smiles because at the end of the day, she knows that one day things will be better for sure.

She plays a lot of roles, such as neighbor, sister, mother, as well as wife. She knows that she is not the perfect person, but she anyway strives to be so. She also sees that the needs of other people are met before her own.

She hides behind the big and bright smile that she has, but every single day, she deals with depression. To be exact, she deals with high – functioning depression. It is a debilitating mood disorder which is suppressed just enough for someone in order to carry out their daily responsibilities.

Some signs which you should look out for:

Enhanced irritability;

Being too hard on their own;

Issues with substance abuse;

Feeling like wasting time;

Anxiety;

Dismissing things for which they carried once, such as appearance, cleanliness, relationships and so on.

If you liked our article, or if it sounds like someone that you know, you should remember that there is always someone that cares and that wants to help as well.

About the author

Ivana Kamenovic was born in Nis, Serbia. Since 2001 she has been a graduated chemist (PMF, Nis, Department of Chemistry), engaged in food analytics and water and in 2013 she became a specialist in sanitary chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. Energetic, communicative and curious by nature.